In 1944 Charles Davis was born in Freeport, New York. In 1969 after leaving a successful eight-year career in industry he enrolled in Suffolk County Community College in Seldon, New York. Casually entering a pottery class taught by Charlie DiCostanzo, who became his first mentor, he found his life’s work.

In 1971, two years later, he furthered his career by enrolling in Alfred University School of Ceramics in Alfred, New York. Simultaneously, while his instructors Daniel Rhodes, Val Cushing, and Robert Turner expanded his awareness of pottery forms from a historical review of pottery form around the world, Charles developed a keen fascination for dramatic effects of Raku firing.

Upon receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Alfred in 1973, Charles moved his family to Kalispell, Montana to continue his career as a studio artist/potter. From 1973 to 1979 he was involved in numerous shows, exhibitions, fairs, and Raku firing workshops at several art centers and colleges throughout the Northwest. A significant recognition came in 1974 when he won Best of Show at Art in the Park in Great Falls, Montana, juried by Wolfgang Pogzeba.

From 1979 to 1983, Charles served as a resident potter and instructor at the Hockaday Museum of the Arts, in Kalispell, Montana. There he provided a solid class program while renovating the studio facilities. Furthermore, he maintained his exhibition schedule, gallery commitments, and Raku firing workshops.

In 1983 he left the Hockaday Museum to again establish his own studio facilities. While continuing his work in his studio, Charles also took pleasure in twenty years as an adjunct potter instructor at the Flathead Valley Community College  in Kalispell, Montana.

Charles was a gold metal finalist in the 1984 International Olympic Art Quest, and in 1997 he was exhibitor at the International Art Exp at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Today he was expanded his firing mediums to include sawdust, salt, and wood firings, including large porcelain vessels. Charles still lives and has his studio in Kalispell, Montana.